Lerwick lifeboat assists with clifftop incident
RNLI Lerwick Lifeboat was tasked tonight by UK Coastguard to assist with a rescue of a clifftop casualty
The lifeboat launched within minutes of being paged just before 7pm, with the crew already having assembled for a training exercise this evening. The crew were asked to locate an adult female who needed assistance on the cliffs at The Knab, on the south side of Lerwick.
The lifeboat was soon at the scene of the incident and quickly located the casualty who was in a precarious position near a high point of the cliffs. Crew were able to guide other emergency services to her location, while the lifeboat deployed the inflatable ‘Y-boat’ on the water as a precaution.
The casualty was recovered from the clifftop by Coastguard Rescue Teams using rope rescue equipment, into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service. The lifeboat was stood down and returned to station around 8.30pm.
Sea conditions were slight, with light northerly winds and some low cloud.
Darren Harcus, Coxswain said: “Our volunteer crew responded quickly to the call to launch and locate the casualty, and support other emergency services colleagues. We’re pleased to see that there was a good outcome to this incident with the casualty safely recovered for medical treatment.”
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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
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